Michael Green and Byron Bolden were sentenced after being convicted of retail theft.
Two thieves in Colorado, United States, were convicted of theft for stealing goods worth $2000 from a departmental store. However, in an amusing instance, the men argued for a lesser punishment for their felony because the items they stole were on sale, as per a report in The Guardian.
Michael Green aged 50 and Byron Bolden, 37, were sentenced this month after being convicted of retail theft at a Kohl’s store located in Parker. Kohl’s dubbed the pair the “KitchenAid Mixer Crew” as they stole brand-name shoes, clothing, and numerous high-end kitchen appliances. The two were identified by the store’s CCTV footage.
Both of them initially stated that they were not guilty. Later, at the trial, their “defense attorneys suggested to a jury that their clients should only face a lesser misdemeanor charge because some of the items they stole were being offered ‘on sale,'” the district attorney’s office stated.
The Colorado law states that theft under $2,000 is a misdemeanour and theft between $2,000 and $5,000 is a class 6 felony. The pair stole items worth $2,094.98 in total.
The District Attorney John Kellner said in a press release, “Just because an item is ‘on sale’ doesn’t mean it’s free to steal, and these defendants now get to think about this lesson in jail and prison. Retailers in our community are fed up with theft and my office will actively prosecute these offenders.”
Both individuals were found guilty of the theft after the court was not persuaded by their reasoning. Mr Bolden received a 90-day jail sentence with credit for time served as a condition of 18 months of probation whereas Mr Green received a 15-month prison sentence.
Sherri Giger, Deputy District Attorney, added that retail theft is not a “victimless” crime. “We’ve all seen news articles about the impact of rising retail theft, including stores forced into closing, as well as price increases passed along to paying customers to offset loss,” she said in the press release.
